Thursday, January 29, 2015

14 of us headed "up" the trail to the power lines above Lake Whatcom. The parking lot for this hike is above the North Lake Whatcom trailhead lot. The hike really is on the Smith Creek trail, but our hiking group calls it Cub Creek. The last time we did this hike we stopped early because it was NOT a nice day. Today was just the opposite, what a glorious day we had for our hike.

The sun peaking through the forest was a welcome sight.

I love to look at trees and this forest gave me some wonderful pictures.

I thought the tree below looked like a Brontosaurus (?).

and this one below, like some kind of forest monster. See his eye and mouth?

The trail crisscrosses roads and power lines, so our view had some power lines in it, but wow what a view. The sun was even warm while we ate.

Wonderful!

After lunch we headed "down", yes this trail is definitely all up and all down.

I played with my camera plus app "macro" setting on our hike today. I found these wonderful little plants beside me while I ate, they were only about a half inch tall.

Below is the normal camera view -

and here's the macro view.

I also took a macro picture of some seed pods on a plant.

I think the two pictures below are my favorite of the day. The first picture is of the stump with small mushroom growing up it. The second picture is a macro of one of the mushrooms.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

I had a cold that more than outstayed it's welcome, and I was happy to be joining our hiking group today. The scheduled hike for today was to be hiking the trails in Lake Padden park.

It was listed as 6 miles & easy, a perfect welcome back for my body that hasn't been doing much of anything for a couple of months.

16 of us headed west on the Lake trail from the ball field side of the park.

It was an overcast, mid 40's morning, comfortable for hiking.

Looking across the Lake to the bathhouse

As we approached the fork in the trail where you could go left or continue around the Lake, 2 of our group left us as they had planned on going a shorter distance. We continued on to the left to begin our way on the higher trails. There was a bit of mud along the way as you can see,

as we made our way back near the ball fields & the parking lot, 2 more of our group left us.

Our group had dwindled down to 12 for the rest of the hike. We headed east and did a loop that brought us back down under the power lines and then to the parking lot by the ball fields.

It was a pretty forest hike.

You never know what you'll see out in the woods :-)

Can you see the Christmas ornaments?

It was so nice to join the Trailblazers again. I've missed all of the "fun" of this group.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

I've been fighting a cold for a few weeks, and I think I really have had a couple of different strains of the common cold - back to back.

Definition: - "A viral infection of the upper respiratory tract - your nose and throat. A common cold is usually harmless, although it may not feel that way at the time. If it's not a runny nose, sore throat and cough, it's the watery eyes, sneezing and congestion - or maybe all of the above. In fact, because any one of more than 100 viruses can cause a common cold, signs and symptoms tend to vary greatly."

I have been living this definition, as in the "or maybe all of the above" section for too long.

"Out of 200 different strains of cold, the rhino virus - or nose virus - is one of the most common. Viruses are microscopic - it would take 50,000 rhino viruses lined up back to back to cover just one millimetre! Worse still, you can easily catch two different strains one after one after the other."

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~ I believe that every person born on this earth is a relevant, impactful presence here. When each of us was born we permanently changed history. We are not just a speck that passes unseen. Our very existence leaves a mark whether it be in a person or just as a footprint on the earths' surface. The earth is different because we exist. We are marked in our loved ones and friends souls.

Joseph Epstein once said, "We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents, or the country of birth. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live"